Determination apparatus and vehicle

ABSTRACT

An onboard determination apparatus, comprising a first acquisition unit configured to acquire peripheral information of a self-vehicle detected by a first sensor, a second acquisition unit configured to acquire peripheral information of the self-vehicle detected by a second sensor of a type different from the first sensor, and a determination unit configured to determine a type of an on-road raised object on the periphery of the self-vehicle based on both the peripheral information acquired by the first acquisition unit and the peripheral information acquired by the second acquisition unit.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an onboard determination apparatus.

Description of the Related Art

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2013-14311 describes, as one type ofautomated driving technique, determining whether a road surface is in astate wet with rain or snow or not and adjusting the distance to apreceding vehicle based on the result of the determination.

A vehicle having an automated driving function generally includes asensor configured to acquire peripheral information of a self-vehicle.When traveling on a road surface wet with rain or snow, an on-roadraised object (so-called ghost) sometimes occurs. This may adhere dirtto the sensor, and the detection performance of the sensor maydeteriorate. Since the influence of the on-road raised object on thesensor changes depending on the type of the on-road raised object, atechnique of appropriately determining the type is required.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention enables determination of the type of an on-roadraised object.

One of the aspects of the present invention provides an onboarddetermination apparatus, comprising a first acquisition unit configuredto acquire peripheral information of a self-vehicle detected by a firstsensor, a second acquisition unit configured to acquire peripheralinformation of the self-vehicle detected by a second sensor of a typedifferent from the first sensor, and a determination unit configured todetermine a type of an on-road raised object on the periphery of theself-vehicle based on both the peripheral information acquired by thefirst acquisition unit and the peripheral information acquired by thesecond acquisition unit.

Further features of the present invention will become apparent from thefollowing description of exemplary embodiments with reference to theattached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a view for explaining an example of the arrangement of avehicle;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram for explaining an example of the arrangementof the vehicle;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram for explaining an example of an arrangementcapable of determining an on-road raised object;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining an example of an on-road raisedobject determination method; and

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining an example of an on-road raisedobject determination method.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described withreference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the drawings areschematic views showing structures or arrangements according to theembodiments, and the dimensions of members shown in the drawings do notnecessarily reflect the actuality. In addition, the same referencenumerals denote the same members or the same constituent elements in thedrawings, and a description of repetitive contents will be omitted.

First Embodiment

FIGS. 1 and 2 are views for explaining the arrangement of a vehicle 1according to the first embodiment. FIG. 1 shows the arrangementpositions of elements to be described below and the connectionrelationship between the elements using a plan view and a side view ofthe vehicle 1. FIG. 2 is a system block diagram of the vehicle 1.

In the following explanation, expressions such as front/rear,upper/lower, and left/right (lateral) are sometimes used. These are usedas expressions indicating relative directions based on the vehicle bodyof the vehicle 1. For example, “front” indicates the front in thelongitudinal direction of the vehicle body, and “upper” indicates theheight direction of the vehicle body.

The vehicle 1 includes an operation unit 11, a detection unit 12, atraveling control unit 13, a driving mechanism 14, a braking mechanism15, and a steering mechanism 16. In this embodiment, the vehicle 1 is afour-wheeled vehicle. However, the number of wheels is not limited tothis.

The operation unit 11 includes an acceleration operator 111, a brakingoperator 112, and a steering operator 113. Typically, the accelerationoperator 111 is an accelerator pedal, the braking operator 112 is abrake pedal, and the steering operator 113 is a steering wheel. However,another type such as a lever type or a button type may be used for theoperators 111 to 113.

The detection unit 12 includes cameras 121, radars 122, and LiDARs(Light Detection and Ranging) 123, all of which function as sensorsconfigured to detect the peripheral information of the vehicle(self-vehicle) 1. The camera 121 is, for example, an image capturingdevice using a CCD image sensor, a CMOS image sensor, or the like. Theradar 122 is, for example, a distance measuring device such as amillimeter-wave radar. The LiDAR 123 is, for example, a distancemeasuring device such as a laser radar. These devices are arranged atpositions where peripheral information of the vehicle 1 can be detected,for example, on the front side, rear side, upper side, and lateral sidesof the vehicle body, as shown in FIG. 1.

The peripheral information of the above-described vehicle 1 isinformation indicating under what kind of situation the vehicle 1 istraveling. The peripheral information of the vehicle 1 indicates, forexample, the traveling environment information (the extending directionof a lane, a traveling enable region, the color of a traffic light, andthe like) of the vehicle 1, object information (the presence/absence ofan object such as another vehicle, a walker, or an obstacle, and theattribute, the position, the moving direction, and the speed of theobject, and the like) on the periphery of the vehicle 1, and the like.

The traveling control unit 13, for example, controls the mechanisms 14to 16 based on signals from the operation unit 11 and/or the detectionunit 12. The traveling control unit 13 includes a plurality of ECUs(Electronic Control Units) 131 to 134. Each ECU includes a CPU, amemory, and a communication interface. Each ECU performs predeterminedprocessing by the CPU based on information (data or an electricalsignal) received via the communication interface, and stores theprocessing result in the memory or outputs the processing result toanother element via the communication interface.

In this embodiment, the ECU 131 is an acceleration ECU and, for example,controls the driving mechanism 14 based on the operation amount of theacceleration operator 111 by a driver. The driving mechanism 14includes, for example, an internal combustion engine and a transmission.The ECU 132 is a braking ECU and, for example, controls the brakingmechanism 15 based on the operation amount of the braking operator 112by the driver. The braking mechanism 15 is, for example, a disc brakeprovided on each wheel. The ECU 133 is a steering ECU and, for example,controls the steering mechanism 16 based on the operation amount of thesteering operator 113 by the driver. The steering mechanism 16 includes,for example, a power steering.

The ECU 134 is a detection ECU and, for example, performs predeterminedprocessing upon receiving the peripheral information of the vehicle 1detected by the detection unit 12 and outputs the processing result tothe ECUs 131 to 133. The ECUs 131 to 133 can also control the mechanisms14 to 16 based on the processing result from the ECU 134. With thisarrangement, the vehicle 1 can perform automated driving based on thedetection result (the peripheral information of the vehicle 1) by thedetection unit 12.

In this specification, automated driving means partially or whollyperforming the driving operation (acceleration, braking, and steering)not on the driver side but on the side of the traveling control unit 13.That is, the concept of automated driving includes a form (so-calledfull automated driving) in which the driving operation is whollyperformed on the side of the traveling control unit 13 and a form(so-called driving support) in which only part of the driving operationis performed on the side of the traveling control unit 13. Examples ofdriving support are a vehicle speed control (automatic cruise control)function, a following distance control (adaptive cruise control)function, a lane departure prevention support (lane keep assist)function, a collision avoidance support function, and the like.

Note that the traveling control unit 13 is not limited to thisarrangement. For example, a semiconductor device such as an ASIC(Application Specific Integrated Circuit) may be used in each of theECUs 131 to 134. That is, the functions of the ECUs 131 to 134 can beimplemented by either hardware or software. In addition, some or all ofthe ECUs 131 to 134 may be formed by a single ECU. In addition, thetraveling control unit 13 may be simply expressed as “control unit”.

By the way, in general, when a vehicle travels on a road surface, arelatively small object may be raised in a mist form (or may beexpressed as “smoke form”) in the space on the road, and an on-roadraised object may be generated. For example, when traveling on a roadsurface wet with rain or snow, an on-road raised object of rainwater orsnow/ice may be generated. Such an on-road raised object is also called“ghost” or the like and can be detected as one object by theabove-described detection unit 12 (the cameras 121, the radars 122, andthe LiDARs 123).

When such an on-road raised object (or a foreign substance such as mudincluded in it) adheres to the detection surface or exposed surface ofthe detection unit 12, the detection performance of the detection unit12 may deteriorate, and the degree of deterioration of the detectionperformance may change depending on the type of the on-road raisedobject. In addition, when the traveling control unit 13 is executing theabove-described automated driving based on the detection result of thedetection unit 12, since the vehicle 1 can determine the state of theroad surface during traveling based on the type of the on-road raisedobject, the result of the determination can be used for control of theautomated driving. For this reason, a technique of appropriatelydetermining the type of the on-road raised object is demanded.

As shown in FIG. 3, in this embodiment, the vehicle 1 further includes adetermination unit (onboard determination apparatus) 17 configured todetermine the type of an on-road raised object. The determination unit17 can communicate with the traveling control unit 13, receives thedetection result of the detection unit 12 from the ECU 134, determinesthe type of the on-road raised object, and outputs the result of thedetermination to the ECUs 131 to 133. With this arrangement, thetraveling control unit 13 (each of the ECUs 131 to 133) performsautomated driving based on the determination result of the determinationunit 17, that is, the type of the on-road raised object.

For example, when the on-road raised object is determined as snow/ice bythe determination unit 17, the traveling control unit 13 may perform, inautomated driving, control different from that in a normal state (forexample, in fine weather or in a case in which it does not rain or snow)or in rainy weather. As an example, the traveling control unit 13 maylimit the vehicle speed of the vehicle 1, for example, set the vehiclespeed a little lower than in the normal state and perform automateddriving. This can prevent snow/ice raised by the vehicle 1 itself or apreceding vehicle traveling ahead of the vehicle 1 from adhering to thedetection unit 12.

Additionally, as another example, the traveling control unit 13 maylimit the vehicle speed of the vehicle 1 such that, for example, thedistance between the vehicle 1 and the preceding vehicle becomes largerthan in the normal state and perform automated driving. This can preventsnow/ice raised by the preceding vehicle from adhering to the detectionunit 12.

As still another example, when, for example, moving in the vehicle widthdirection to change the lane, the traveling control unit 13 may do thismoderately (by suppressing the moving speed in the vehicle widthdirection) as compared to the normal state. Alternatively, the travelingcontrol unit 13 may inhibit a lane change aiming at passing thepreceding vehicle.

The above-described several examples also apply to a case in which theon-road raised object is determined as rainwater. Furthermore, controlcan also be performed such that the vehicle speed is lowered upondetermining that the on-road raised object is rainwater, and the vehiclespeed is further lowered upon determining that the on-road raised objectis snow/ice.

In this embodiment, the determination unit 17 includes a CPU, a memory,and a communication interface, and determines the type of an on-roadraised object by this arrangement. The function of the determinationunit 17 can be implemented by either hardware or software, like the ECU131 and the like.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a method of determining the type of theon-road raised object according to this embodiment. Each step explainedin this flowchart is executed mainly by the determination unit 17. Asthe outline of this flowchart, the type of the on-road raised object onthe periphery of the vehicle 1 is determined by considering both piecesof peripheral information detected by two different types of sensors(the radars 122 and the LiDARs 123).

First, in step S410 (to be simply referred to as “S410” hereinafter, andthis also applies to the other steps), the peripheral information of thevehicle 1 is acquired. As described above, the peripheral information ofthe vehicle 1 indicates the traveling environment information (theextending direction of a lane, a traveling enable region, the color of atraffic light, and the like) of the vehicle 1, object information (thepresence/absence of an object such as another vehicle, a walker, or anobstacle, and the attribute, the position, the moving direction, and thespeed of the object, and the like) on the periphery of the vehicle 1,and the like. These are generated based on the detection result of thedetection unit 12, that is, image data obtained from the cameras 121 andtarget information obtained from the radars 122 and the LiDARs 123.

Here, the radars 122 and the LiDARs 123 generate electromagnetic waves(projected waves) different from each other and detect waves (reflectedwaves) reflected by an object on the periphery of the vehicle 1, therebyacquiring target information. The concept of the electromagnetic wavesincludes, for example, radio waves such as a millimeter wave and asubmillimeter wave, light such as visible light, infrared rays, andultraviolet rays, radiation such as X-rays, and laser beams of variouswavelengths. The electromagnetic wave of the LiDARs 123 has a shorterwavelength (higher frequency) as compared to the radars 122, and objects(targets) detectable by the radars 122 and the LiDARs 123 can bedifferent. As a typical example, a millimeter wave (having a wavelengthof several [mm] and a frequency of several hundred [GHz]) is used as theelectromagnetic wave of the radars 122, and a laser beam (having awavelength of several hundred [nm] and a frequency of several hundred[THz]) is used as the electromagnetic wave of the LiDARs 123. However,the electromagnetic waves are not limited to these.

In S420, it is determined whether the detection unit 12 detects anon-road raised object (or an object that may be an on-road raisedobject). If the detection unit 12 detects an on-road raised object, theprocess advances to S430. Otherwise, this flowchart ends. In S420, it isonly necessary to determine whether an object that may be an on-roadraised object is detected, and the target of the detection determinationneed not always be an on-road raised object. In this embodiment, whensome or at least one of the cameras 121, the radars 122, and the LiDARs123 detects the object that may be an on-road raised object, the processadvances to S430.

For example, in a case of the cameras 121, the determination can beimplemented by performing known image analysis such as pattern matchingfor image data obtained by the cameras 121. If, as the result ofanalysis of the image data, for example, an object in a mist form existsin a predetermined region above the road surface or within apredetermined range behind the preceding vehicle, it can be said that anon-road raised object is generated in that region. Note that cases ofthe radars 122 and the LiDARs 123 will be described later.

In S430, it is determined whether the LiDARs 123 detect an on-roadraised object (or an object that may be an on-road raised object). Ifthe LiDARs 123 detect an on-road raised object, the process advances toS440. Otherwise, this flowchart ends. This determination is done basedon the target information obtained by the LiDARs 123. For example, ifthe detection result of the LiDARs 123 includes information representinga clutter (a noise component corresponding to a reflected wave by rainor the like), it can be said that an on-road raised object is generatedin that region. Additionally, in a case in which, for example, it isdetermined in S420 by the cameras 121 that an on-road raised object isgenerated, and the target information represents that an object havingthe same shape as the on-road raised object exists in the region, it canbe said that an on-road raised object is generated in that region.

In S440, it is determined whether the radars 122 detect an on-roadraised object (or an object that may be an on-road raised object). Ifthe radars 122 detect an on-road raised object, the process advances toS450. Otherwise, the process advances to S460. This determination isdone based on the target information obtained by the radars 122, as inS430.

As described above, the electromagnetic wave of the LiDARs 123 has ashorter wavelength (higher frequency) as compared to the radars 122, andobjects (targets) detectable by the radars 122 and the LiDARs 123 can bedifferent. For this reason, depending on the type of the on-road raisedobject, a case in which the detection result of the radars 122 and thedetection result of the LiDARs 123 are the same and a case in which theyare different can occur. For example, if the on-road raised object issnow/ice, both the radars 122 and the LiDARs 123 can detect this. On theother hand, if the on-road raised object is rainwater, the LiDARs 123 ofthe radars 122 and the LiDARs 123 can detect this.

Hence, in S450, the on-road raised object is determined as snow/ice, andin S460, the on-road raised object is determined as rainwater. Afterthat, in S470, the determination result is output to the travelingcontrol unit 13 (ECUs 131 to 133). Based on the determination result,the traveling control unit 13 can perform the above-described automateddriving, for example, adjust the distance between the vehicle 1 and thepreceding vehicle or decide whether to change the lane.

According to this embodiment, in S410, the determination unit 17acquires the peripheral information of the vehicle 1 detected by theradars 122 and acquires the peripheral information of the vehicle 1detected by the LiDARs 123. In S430 to S460, the type of the on-roadraised object on the periphery of the vehicle 1 is determined based onboth the detection result of the radars 122 and the detection result ofthe LiDARs 123. That is, according to this embodiment, it is possible todetermine the type of the on-road raised object by considering bothpieces of peripheral information detected by the two different types ofsensors.

The two types of sensors need only use methods different from each otheras the method of detecting the vehicle 1. In this embodiment, a form inwhich the type (rainwater or snow/ice) of the on-road raised object isdetermined using the radars 122 (capable of detecting snow/ice) and theLiDARs 123 (capable of detecting both rainwater and snow/ice) whichgenerate electromagnetic waves of different wavelengths has beenexemplified. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Asan example, the type of the on-road raised object can also be determinedusing the cameras 121 (capable of detecting both rainwater and snow/ice)in place of the LiDARs 123, that is, using the cameras 121 and theradars 122. Alternatively, as another example, the type (also includinga type different from rainwater and snow/ice) of the on-road raisedobject can also be determined further using another radar whoseelectromagnetic wave has a wavelength different from those of both theradars 122 and the LiDARs 123. That is, various types of sensors can beselected as the above-described two types of sensors.

In this embodiment, in response to detection of an on-road raised object(or an object that may be an on-road raised object) by the detectionunit 12, determination of the type is performed based on the detectionresults of the radars 122 and the LiDARs 123 (see S420). However, thedetermination method is not limited to this form and can be modifiedvariously. For example, the determination method may be set such thatthe determination starts upon detection by the LiDARs 123. That is, S420may be omitted.

Additionally, in this embodiment, the cameras 121 are arranged to beable to capture the state ahead of the vehicle 1. Accordingly, thecameras 121 can detect an on-road raised object by the precedingvehicle. For this reason, in S420, for example, when the cameras 121detect the on-road raised object by the preceding vehicle, determinationof the type can be performed in response to this. In general, an on-roadraised object raised by a traveling vehicle is generated behind thevehicle, and the range of diffusion of the on-road raised object canchange depending on the traveling state (the vehicle speed, the turningangle, and the like) of the vehicle. Hence, in S420, the on-road raisedobject may be detected with focus on a predetermined region behind thepreceding vehicle. At this time, the range to focus may be set based onthe traveling state of the preceding vehicle. This can improve thedetection accuracy of the on-road raised object. This also applies tothe cases of the radars 122 and the LiDARs 123.

Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the type of the on-roadraised object can be determined based on the detection results of theradars 122 and the LiDARs 123 (without referring to the detection resultof the cameras 121). For this reason, even if other cameras 121 capableof detecting an on-road raised object raised by the vehicle 1 itself arenot further arranged, the type of the on-road raised object raised bythe vehicle 1 itself can be determined based on the detection results ofthe radars 122 and the LiDARs 123. Hence, according to this embodiment,even if a preceding vehicle does not exist ahead of the vehicle 1,appropriate automated driving can be implemented. Alternatively, asanother embodiment, to detect the on-road raised object raised by thevehicle 1 itself, other cameras 121 and, additionally, other radars 122and other LiDARs 123 may be further arranged on the periphery of thewheels of the vehicle 1. In this case, the steps from S430 may beperformed in response to detection of the on-road raised object by atleast the other cameras 121. This makes it possible to appropriatelyprevent erroneous determination of the type of the on-road raised objector erroneous detection of the on-road raised object itself.

Second Embodiment

In the above-described first embodiment, the type of an on-road raisedobject is determined using two types of sensors. The accuracy of thedetermination can be improved further using other types of sensors. Asthe other types of sensors, for example, sensors configured to detectthe peripheral environment of a vehicle 1 such as a temperature(atmospheric temperature) or humidity outside the vehicle can be used.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing part of determination contents accordingto the second embodiment. In this embodiment, S4501 to S4504 areperformed in place of S450 of the determination method according to thefirst embodiment (see FIG. 4), and the remaining steps are the same asin the first embodiment. As the outline of this flowchart, the type ofan on-road raised object is determined further based on the peripheralenvironment of the vehicle 1 such as the temperature or humidity outsidethe vehicle.

In S4501, the peripheral environment of the vehicle 1 is acquired. Thiscan be implemented by, for example, providing, outside the vehicle 1, atemperature sensor capable of detecting the temperature outside thevehicle and a humidity sensor capable of detecting the humidity outsidethe vehicle.

In S4502, it is determined, based on the peripheral environment acquiredin S4501, whether each of the temperature and the humidity satisfies apredetermined condition. If the temperature and the humidity satisfy thepredetermined conditions, the process advances to S4503. Otherwise, theprocess advances to S4504. As the predetermined conditions, conditionscorresponding to a snowfall condition or a snow accumulation conditionare set. For example, the temperature can be set to 10° C. or less, andthe humidity can be set to 60% or less.

In S4503, since it is determined in S4502 that the temperature and thehumidity satisfy the conditions corresponding to the snowfall conditionor the snow accumulation condition, the type of the on-road raisedobject detected in S420 to S440 (see FIG. 4) is determined as snow/ice.On the other hand, in S4504, since it is determined in S4502 that thetemperature and the humidity do not satisfy the conditions, the type ofthe on-road raised object is determined as, for example, dust.

In this embodiment, the atmospheric temperature and the humidity outsidethe vehicle have been exemplified as the peripheral environment of thevehicle 1 obtained in S4501. In the determination of S4502, however, oneof the atmospheric temperature and the humidity may be referred to. Inaddition, since the dust exemplified in S4504 is readily raised as thehumidity lowers, a condition to determine the on-road raised object asdust may be provided independently of the predetermined conditions inS4502. As another embodiment, the wind velocity may be further referredto. Alternatively, past weather information only in a predeterminedperiod (for example, 1 hr) before the timing of the determination inS4502 may be further referred to.

Summary of Embodiments

The first aspect is directed to an onboard determination apparatus (forexample, 17), and the determination apparatus comprises a firstacquisition unit (for example, 17, S410) configured to acquireperipheral information of a self-vehicle (for example, 1) detected by afirst sensor (for example, 122, 123), a second acquisition unit (forexample, 17, S410) configured to acquire peripheral information of theself-vehicle detected by a second sensor (for example, 122, 123) of atype different from the first sensor, and a determination unit (forexample, 17, S430-S460) configured to determine a type of an on-roadraised object on the periphery of the self-vehicle based on both theperipheral information acquired by the first acquisition unit and theperipheral information acquired by the second acquisition unit.

According to the first aspect, it is possible to determine the type ofthe on-road raised object on the periphery of the self-vehicle byconsidering both pieces of peripheral information detected by the twotypes of sensors. Note that the on-road raised object as thedetermination target includes an on-road raised object by theself-vehicle itself and an on-road raised object by another vehicle (forexample, a preceding vehicle) on the periphery of the self-vehicle.

In the second aspect, when one of the peripheral information acquired bythe first acquisition unit and the peripheral information acquired bythe second acquisition unit indicates existence of the on-road raisedobject, the determination unit determines the on-road raised object asrainwater (for example, S460), and when both the peripheral informationacquired by the first acquisition unit and the peripheral informationacquired by the second acquisition unit indicate the existence of theon-road raised object, the determination unit determines the on-roadraised object as snow/ice (for example, S450).

As the types of the on-road raised object, snow/ice and rainwater can beconsidered. According to the second aspect, these can be distinguished.

In the third aspect, the determination unit determines the type of theon-road raised object further based on a peripheral environment of theself-vehicle (for example, S4501-S4504).

According to the third aspect, it is possible to improve the accuracy ofdetermination of the type of the on-road raised object.

In the fourth aspect, the peripheral environment of the self-vehicleincludes a temperature and/or a humidity outside the self-vehicle (forexample, S4502).

According to the fourth aspect, it is possible to improve the accuracyof the determination. For example, if the temperature is relativelyhigh, and the humidity is relatively low, it can be determined that theon-road raised object is not snow/ice but dust.

The fifth aspect is directed to a vehicle (for example, 1), the vehicleis a vehicle comprising a determination apparatus (for example, 17), anda control unit (for example, 13) configured to perform a drivingoperation of a self-vehicle, and the control unit performs the drivingoperation based on a determination result of a determination unit.

According to the fifth aspect, the determination apparatus can beapplied to a vehicle having an automated driving function, and theautomated driving function can appropriately be implemented.

In the sixth aspect, the control unit performs the driving operation tolimit a vehicle speed of the self-vehicle based on the determinationresult of the determination unit.

According to the sixth aspect, for example, control can also beperformed such that the vehicle speed is lowered if the type of theon-road raised object is rainwater, and the vehicle speed is furtherlowered if the type of the on-road raised object is snow/ice, and thecontents of automated driving can be changed in accordance with the typeof the on-road raised object.

In the seventh aspect, the control unit performs the driving operationto limit a movement in a vehicle width direction of the self-vehiclebased on the determination result of the determination unit.

According to the seventh aspect, the contents of automated driving canbe changed in accordance with the type of the on-road raised object. Forexample, for snow/ice (or rainwater), control can be performed such thatthe lane change is suppressed, or the lane change is performedmoderately as compared to a normal state.

In the eighth aspect, the vehicle further comprises a first sensor (forexample, 122) and a second sensor (for example, 123), the first sensorcan detect a target using a first electromagnetic wave, the secondsensor can detect a target using a second electromagnetic wave whosewavelength is shorter than a wavelength of the first electromagneticwave, when an on-road raised object is detected as the target by thesecond sensor of the first sensor and the second sensor, thedetermination unit determines the on-road raised object as rainwater(for example, S430), and when the on-road raised object is detected asthe target by both the first sensor and the second sensor, thedetermination unit determines the on-road raised object as snow/ice (forexample, S440).

According to the eighth aspect, the type of the on-road raised objectcan appropriately be determined.

In the ninth aspect, the vehicle further comprises an image capturingsensor (for example, 121), and the determination unit determines a typeof an on-road raised object in response to detection of the on-roadraised object by the image capturing sensor (for example, S420).

According to the ninth aspect, since the on-road raised object can bedetected even by the image capturing sensor such as a camera, the typeof the on-road raised object can be determined in response to detectionof the on-road raised object by the image capturing sensor. Thisprevents erroneous determination of the type of the on-road raisedobject or erroneous detection of the on-road raised object itself.

In the 10th aspect, the determination unit determines a type of anon-road raised object raised by a preceding vehicle traveling ahead ofthe self-vehicle.

According to the 10th aspect, it is possible to detect the on-roadraised object raised by the preceding vehicle and adjust (for example,increase) the distance to the preceding vehicle based on the type.

In the 11th aspect, the determination unit determines the type of theon-road raised object existing within a predetermined region that islocated behind the preceding vehicle and is set based on a travelingstate of the preceding vehicle.

In general, an on-road raised object raised by a traveling vehicle isgenerated behind the vehicle, and the range of diffusion of the on-roadraised object can change depending on the state (the vehicle speed, theturning angle, and the like) of the vehicle. Hence, according to the11th aspect, the type of the on-road raised object in the region set inconsideration of the state of the preceding vehicle is determined. Thiscan improve the detection accuracy of the on-road raised object.

In the 12th aspect, the determination unit determines a type of anon-road raised object raised by the self-vehicle.

According to the 12th aspect, it is possible to determine the type ofthe on-road raised object from the traveling surface even if thepreceding vehicle does not exist.

Other Embodiments

Several preferred embodiments have been described above. However, thepresent invention is not limited to these examples and may partially bemodified without departing from the scope of the invention. For example,other elements may be combined with the contents of the embodiments inaccordance with the object, application purpose, and the like, and thecontents of a certain embodiment may be combined with part of thecontents of another embodiment. In addition, individual terms describedin this specification are merely used for the purpose of explaining thepresent invention, and the present invention is not limited to thestrict meanings of the terms and can also incorporate their equivalents.

While the present invention has been described with reference toexemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is notlimited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of thefollowing claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as toencompass all such modifications and equivalent structures andfunctions.

This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No.2017-173209, filed on Sep. 8, 2017, which is hereby incorporated byreference herein in its entirety.

What is claimed is:
 1. An onboard determination apparatus comprising: afirst acquisition unit configured to acquire peripheral informationusing a first sensor which generates a millimeter wave as a projectedwave and detects the millimeter wave as a reflected wave, the peripheralinformation including at least information of an object around aself-vehicle; a second acquisition unit configured to acquire theperipheral information using a second sensor which generates a laserbeam as a projected wave and detects the laser beam as a reflected wave;and a determination unit configured to determine an on-road raisedobject on a periphery of the self-vehicle as rainwater, when theperipheral information acquired by the first acquisition unit does notindicate existence of the on-road raised object and when the peripheralinformation acquired by the second acquisition unit indicates existenceof the on-road raised object; and determine the on-road raised object assnow/ice, when the peripheral information acquired by both the first andsecond acquisition units indicates existence of the on-road raisedobject.
 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determinationunit determines the type of the on-road raised object further based on atemperature and a humidity outside the self-vehicle.
 3. A vehiclecomprising: a determination apparatus of claim 1; and a control unitconfigured to perform a driving operation of the self-vehicle, whereinthe control unit performs, based on a determination result of adetermination unit, (i) an adjustment of a vehicle speed, (ii) anadjustment of a distance between the self-vehicle and its precedingvehicle, and/or (iii) a decision whether to change a lane.
 4. Thevehicle according to claim 3, wherein the control unit limits thevehicle speed in a first case of determining the on-road raised objectas rainwater, and further limits the vehicle speed in a second case ofdetermining the on-road raised object as snow/ice such that the vehiclespeed in the second case is lower than that in the first case.
 5. Thevehicle according to claim 3, wherein the control unit moves theself-vehicle in a vehicle width direction moderately in a first case ofdetermining the on-road raised object as rainwater, and further movesthe self-vehicle in the vehicle width direction moderately in a secondcase of determining the on-road raised object as snow/ice such that themovement in the second case is more moderate than that in the firstcase.
 6. The vehicle according to claim 3, further comprising the firstsensor and the second sensor.
 7. The vehicle according to claim 3,further comprising an image capturing sensor, wherein the determinationunit determines a type of an on-road raised object in response todetection of the on-road raised object by the image capturing sensor. 8.The vehicle according to claim 3, wherein the determination unitdetermines a type of an on-road raised object raised by a precedingvehicle traveling ahead of the self-vehicle.
 9. The vehicle according toclaim 8, wherein the determination unit determines the type of theon-road raised object existing within a predetermined region that islocated behind the preceding vehicle and is set based on a travelingstate of the preceding vehicle.
 10. The vehicle according to claim 3,wherein the determination unit determines a type of an on-road raisedobject raised by the self-vehicle.